Summary
Despite all the narrative benefitsOverwatch 2’s story missions have provided, it is hard to deny that they have flaws. No proper boss fights against named characters has been one critique, as has the limited number of missions. Most of all, though, players have been quick to point out that the missions are not very replayable. After one run where gamers take in the story, they have little reason to replay the levels, as the objectives boil down to standing still and shooting quite often. However, aCall of Duty-inspired co-op mode could solve this problem withOverwatch 2co-op.
While better rewards to chase in the co-op missions would be a start, and moreOverwatch 2event missionswould certainly be welcome, Blizzard can only do so much to fix this issue. For example, though missions that are limited to four characters like Gothenburg can take better advantage of each hero’s abilities, those that offer numerous options like Toronto have to be more open-ended to accommodate for a larger cast. With this in mind, the best solution to the problem may be letting the story missions remain linear while adding an additional PvE mode built entirely around replayability. Few games fit this niche better thanCall of DutyZombies, and it could be a good inspiration for anOverwatch 2horde mode.
RELATED:Blizzard Has a Perfect Way to Kill Time Until Overwatch 2’s Next Story Mission Drop
Overwatch 2 Now Has All The Pieces For a Proper Horde Mode
WhenCall of DutyZombies began, it was a simple passion project made by a small team within Treyarch. However, when it took off, the mode evolved significantly from small survival maps and an enemy pool that was limited to just the undead. Now, maps are expansive and full of secrets to uncover, while an interesting story full of memorable character has allowed tons of enemy types to be introduced. As a result, almost everyCall of DutyZombies mapfeels distinct, something that Blizzard should take note of if it ever designs its own horde mode forOverwatch 2.
The closestOverwatch 2has come to a horde mode isJunkenstein’s Revenge, a replayable co-op level where players need to defend the castle door from the Eichenwalde map. While the mode is fun, and battling hordes of Zomnics certainly seems likeCoDZombies on the surface, it ultimately feels nothing like Treyarch’s classic co-op offering. Defending the door gives the mode an objective focus, but without any variety in tasks. Further, players have no freedom to explore and are essentially confined to one small chunk of a single map. As a result, after players beat Junkenstein’s forces a few times, they will likely have little reason to replay the mode.
AnOverwatch 2horde mode’s biggest change over Junkenstein’s Revenge - and the key lesson it should learn fromCall of DutyZombies - is map variety. Players should be thrown into large maps with lots of areas to fight through, with Blizzard potentially repurposing theFlashpointlocations. They can then unlock more chunks of the map like inCall of DutyZombies, expanding the play space and finding new spots to hold off the enemy hordes. As they progress, they could find upgrades for their heroes, like permanent health and damage boosts as well as turrets and self revives.
Enemy variety could be another lesson learned from the more recent iterations ofCall of DutyZombies. Perhaps players occasionally get waves of Splicers to resemble the Hellhound rounds from Zombies, with everyone in the group getting max Ultimate charge upon the special wave’s completion. Each map in the horde mode could have different enemy lineups, too. One map could be another halloween-themed level that brings back the Zomnics. The next could focus on Talon, while a third map could feature all theNull Sectorforces from the Invasion story missions. Elite variants of these enemies with more health and higher damage outputs could start to appear the longer players last, ensuring that the difficulty increases over time.
Much likeCall of DutyZombies relies on interesting character dialogue, so too doesOverwatch 2, and the horde mode could provide some exclusive conversations between the characters that are not found in other game modes. Rewards tied to surviving a certain amount of time or killing a set number of enemies could be unlocked, and by letting players use every hero instead of just the limited options available in Junkenstein’s Revenge, gamers can come up with a lot of interesting strategies. A leaderboard system could let players compete against their friends, too. The game needs a PvE mode that players can keep going back into without having cutscenes and predictable enemy spawns thrown their way, and a wave-based survival experience inspired byCoDZombies feels like an ideal option.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Overwatch 2’s Next Story Missions Should Fix One Missed Opportunity From Invasion
